communication skills

1. the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively.

"you'll need good communication skills and must be able to work well with others"

The ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently. Business managers with good
verbal, non verbal and written communication skills help facilitate the sharing of information between
people within a company for its commercial benefit.

Having good communication skills in the workplace is all about being able to convey information to
people clearly and simply, in a way that means things are understood and get done. It's about transmitting
and receiving messages clearly, and being able to read your audience.

Communication skills are essential for the successful future career of a student. ... Reading, writing and
listening carefully are the three most important communication skills for students. These skills like
most of the communication skills sounds too familiar as a result of which we take them for granted.

An important component to good communication skills is the ability to listen. People in business need to
understand the mission and goals of their company and what their responsibilities are. That starts
with good listening skills. ... They want new employees to be able to listen, act and then explain those
actions.

Why Good Communication Skills are Essential to Your Future Career

If you want to succeed in your career, you need to know what you want and how to go after it. And
you can’t do that without good communication skills. Being an excellent communicator can help you land
that first job in your new career and ensure a positive future. It can separate you from other applicants,
help you be a more effective employee and serve as a stepping stone to leadership responsibilities and
career advancement.

Do you have good communication skills? Here’s why they’re essential for your future career:

Good communication skills can help you land an interview and that first job in your new career. Being
able to articulate all you know and can do, whether in spoken or written form, goes a long way in the
application process. Do you have great problem solving skills and a passion for information technology?
Let your future employer know what you’ve already accomplished in the field and the unique skill set
you’ll bring to their company. And be sure to communicate that you’re always willing to learn more!
Once you have the job and are proving your worth every day, don’t forget to speak up for career
advancement opportunities.

Good communicators can explain their ideas to others in ways that make sense and are easy to
understand. You’ll be able to tell your supervisor what you need to do your job well. You’ll also be able
to talk with co-workers to make sure you’re all working together for the good of the company and its
customers. For example, if you work in healthcare, it’s vital that you communicate well to your patients.
If you’re an IT specialist teaching a user how to work with a new software application, your
communication skills can make the difference between a satisfied customer and a frustrated and angry
one.

An important component to good communication skills is the ability to listen. People in business need to
understand the mission and goals of their company and what their responsibilities are. That starts with
good listening skills. You need to listen closely to your supervisors and your clients if you’re going to
meet the needs of both. Once you’ve done some work, you’ll also need to listen to feedback to see what
you’ve done right and what could be done even better.

One of the very best reasons to work on your communications skills is one of the simplest reasons: it’s
what employers want. In employer surveys, communication skills consistently rank at the top of the list of
soft skills hiring managers are looking for in new hires. They want new employees to be able to listen, act
and then explain those actions. Does that sound like you?
BODY LANGUAGE

Body language is a type of non-verbal communication in which physical behavior, as opposed

to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial
expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space.

7C’s OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

The concept of »7 C’s of Effective Communication« first appeared in business, where time is precious
and there is no room for mistakes done out of misinformation. The »7 C’s« stand for seven essential
principles of communication starting with the letter C. Each one represents a requirement that the
message should meet to be effective. Applying these principles to your communication ensures that your
message will be in sync with the recipient’s understanding and free from ballast.

Modern science is not much different from business in the sense that scientists face information
overload. Oral presentations are the biggest problem in this respect: how many conferences or seminars
have you attended where no speaker talked too fast or extended their talk over the allocated length
because they wanted to squeeze too much information in too little time? When dealing with written
communication, for example when reading research papers, scientists adapt to time shortage by skimming
for key information, and read in depth only the most interesting parts. In both cases, if the communication
is ineffective, the main message of your work will be obscured or lost. You risk missing opportunities to
be cited or invited for collaboration.

In this post, we reinterpreted the »7 C’s« of effective business communication to fit scientific purposes.
They are applicable to both oral and written communication.

1. Clarity: Simplicity & Organization

Clarity is best achieved through short, simple and fluent sentences and paragraphs. Each paragraph should
describe only one idea, and paragraphs should be organized from »the big picture« at the beginning to
greater detail towards the end. The last sentence in a paragraph should indicate the information in the next
paragraph. Appropriate idea flow ensures that the readers are exposed to right information at the right
time, especially if they are not from your immediate scientific field.

Clarity is interconnected with the principle of completeness and concreteness.

2. Conciseness: Get to the Point

Conciseness means forming your message with minimum number of words possible without invalidating
the other 6 C’s. Avoid wordiness, repetition, and filler words or phrases, such as »in short«, »as stated
before«, »due to the fact that«, »this is the first study«, etc. This is particularly important in project
proposals or research papers with strict word limits. Concise message is also more appealing and
comprehensible, and will save time both to you and your audience.

Conciseness is interconnected with the principles of concreteness and consideration

3. Concreteness: Specifics Instead of Generalizations

Concrete message is like a factsheet put to words. For example, it is much better to say »In the review of
the period from 2010 to 2015, A & B (2016) found that 75 % of publications from the research area of X
reported on the phenomenon of Y« than »The phenomenon of Y has become increasingly recognized in
the recent years«. Avoid also vague words and words with multiple meanings, such as »in the future«,
»several«, »quickly«, etc. Concreteness diminishes the need to guess the meaning and the possibility of
misinterpretation.

Concreteness is interconnected with the principles of clarity, conciseness and consideration.

4. Completeness: No Necessary Information is Missing

A complete message should convey all facts required by the audience. In interdisciplinary research, for
example, your reviewers might be from another scientific field. It is therefore wise to include more
general information than you normally would if you wrote a paper within your narrow expertise. On the
other hand, there is no possibility for corrections or follow-up in the revision process of project proposals.
You thus need to ensure that reviewers have all the facts at hand if you wish that your project is
convincing.

Completeness is interconnected with the principles of clarity and courtesy.

5. Correctness: Facts & Proofreading

Correctness refers to both factual and linguistic accuracy. All the information you provide needs to stem
from valid, reliable, and credible sources that can be located. This is the reason why Wikipedia is not
accepted as an information source for scientific publications. Correctness is fundamental in research paper
discussions, where your claims need to be supported with facts and figures from your results. Finally, you
should always check your writing for typing, spelling, and grammatical errors. If English is not your
mother tongue, it is wise to consult professional language editing services.

Correctness is interconnected with the principle of consideration.

6. Courtesy: Stepping Into Audience’s Shoes

Courteous message is written from the viewpoint of the audience. If you prepare a seminar about your
latest discovery, you will need to provide background information for your students, but you can skip
those and get right to the details for your coworkers. Messages for general public should always highlight
the societal benefits of your research. Courtesy requires some thinking about what the audience knows or
doesn’t know and forming the message accordingly. However, it is also a way of showing respect.

Courtesy is interconnected with the principle of completeness.

7. Consideration: Scientists are People, Too

Just because scientists are able to deal with complex ideas and tons of information, it doesn’t mean that
they are able to deal with a flood of unformatted text. Whatever document you are preparing, be
considerate and use visual design to make the main messages stand out. Figures, paragraphs, headings,
bulleted lists, and highlights are tools you can use to make your paper, poster, or project proposal more
appealing and comprehensible. Consideration also entails good language. Visually or linguistically, your
message shouldn’t look as if it was prepared in a hurry!

Consideration is interconnected with the principle of correctness.

 Following are some examples of body language, and what each example
communicates to other people:

 Nail biting
 Hand placed on the cheek
 Tapping or drumming the fingers
 Head tilted to one side
 Touching the nose
 Rubbing the hands together briskly
 Placing the tips of the fingers together

Listening
Listening is a very under rated skill. Early in life we were taught to Listen and learn at school but still
many of us in our fast paced life have not mastered this concept. Listening is essential if we are to
demonstrate good communication skills. Listening is a vital component of communication: what is the
message that our opposite person is trying to communicate.
In order to listen effectively we are obliged to concentrate on what the other person has to say. This is
extremely difficult because we are also taught that we should have the right to express our own opinions
and are often so focussed on our message that we totally miss the other persons point. We should also
disconnect as much as possible our natural filters that inhibit our ability to listen and understand.
What are the causes of poor listening?
1. Over talkative
A person who feels the need to talk will always be concentrating on what they need to say next and miss
potentially valuable information.
2. Self Interest/Interruptions
Many people simply are waiting for key words that trigger their response. There is something of interest
here. Now is my chance to say my piece. At this point all listening has evaporated essentially ignoring the
other persons content.
3. Intolerance
Someone does not share the same values as you and therefore you switch off. Or worse you try and
explain/impose your values on them. However it is vital that you tune into how these values have come to
pass. Seek clarification with an open mind. Only then can you make a considered judgement. Avoid
intolerance of others views.
4. Prejudgement
Human beings generally prejudge most situations and people. This can be a disaster where listening is
involved. Once you have prejudged a situation you put up barriers and filters to stop any information
reaching you that you have already discounted. Worse still your prejudgement may actually be
unwarranted and you have therefore missed an opportunity to build a rapport and empathy with the other
party and learn something new.
5. Disruptions/Noise
Meetings are often disrupted by noise, other conversations, and phones ringing. Climate (light,
temperature, ergonomics) can also divert attention away from listening. Try to minimise disruptions to
meetings so active listening can take place.
6. Personal problems/stress
External distractions from personal life (fears, uncertainty, anxiety, financial problems etc) can disrupt
your attention. In this situation you will need to double your concentration levels to ensure that the little
voice inside us all does not compete for the voice that we should be listening to.
7. Deficiencies in speech and expression
In some cases it is difficult to listen attentively when the other party is not expressing themselves clearly.
They are using words or terminology that you are unfamiliar with. They do not speak in a clear or logical
manner. Seek clarification. This alone will reinforce that you are listening and demonstrate your desire to
understand the other party’s point of view
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing takes place when someone repeats something written or spoken using different words, or in
a simpler and shorter form that makes the original meaning clearer. A great way to demonstrate to the
other party that you are listening effectively is to paraphrase what you have just heard.